How You Can Dramatically Cut Customer Service Costs and Turn Your System Into a Moneymaking Machine!

How most people run their online customer support...

The whole point of effective customer service is to build relationships with customers· And by the end of a good customer service process the customer should want to do business with you again.

However, the problem with most support systems is the most important end goal is ignored ... Future Sales!

By forgetting the customer support is about getting future sales, companies spend too much money without getting much in return.

On the other hand, by focusing on future sales, you will be able to quickly identify ways you can cut down on time and money spent dealing with customer support, and put your time and money to better use!

How you can easily turn customer service into immediate profits...

What we are about to show you is how you can cut your unnecessary customer service responses up to ninety percent, while keeping your customers happier than ever and increasing your profits.

8 Powerful Service Reducing Techniques:

1. Set clear expectations in the sales letter or sales process: Before customers even buy your product, they need to understand what they are getting. If they don't, they won't have received value, and this results in refunds or lack of repeat sales.

Here's how you can set clear expectations:

• If you have to spend more money to succeed with your product, let the customer know beforehand.
  
  
• Let the customer know what kind of results they can expect if they use your product correctly.
  
  
• Describe when and how the product will be delivered, especially if it's digital.
  
  
• Tell what the product looks like and/or provide a picture.
  
  
• If your product is technical, offer a demo or sample. This can be done with screen shots or a trial version of your product.
  
  

In addition to setting clear expectations, being honest with a customer builds trust that leads to more sales and fewer refunds.

2. Create two FAQ pages: There are two times when your customers have questions. One is before they buy, and the other is after.

That is why you need to create two FAQ pages. The first one should be used as a sales tool. You should answer any objections the customer has. These might include:

• "How difficult is it to use your product?"
• "Why is your product priced so high?"
• "Can I use your product to achieve my goals?"
• "How do I know you are trustworthy?"

The second FAQ page is for after the sale is made. This is designed to eliminate the need for as much contact as possible. Below are two very important phrases you must use to increase the consumption of this FAQ page:

• "90% of customer questions are answered in the FAQ page"
• "Please read before you contact customer service."

These two lines encourage readers to take the time to read the FAQ's rather than just sending off an email or picking up the phone.

Stealth profit stream # 1 - This second FAQ page can also be used to sell a backend product or an upsell to the customer. Simply tell the customer about another product or an upgrade to a product he already purchased. You do this after each FAQ or on every, single page. The more helpful and related the product appears to the customer, the more effective this profit stream will be.

3. After the order, remind the customer what he or she should do next: This means answering these questions:

• How does the customer go about getting the product?
  
  
• How should the customer use the product?
  
  
• Does the customer have to wait for any amount of time to use or receive your product?
  
  
• What does the charge look like on the customer's credit card statement?
  
  

By answering these questions, the customer will have no confusion regarding product use, and this will lead to fewer customer-service questions.

These questions can be answered simply by redirecting the customer to a Web page with the answers after they place an order. You should also send them an Autoresponder message that confirms an order and answers these questions a second time.

Stealth profit stream # 2 - On the redirect page, offer the customer information that leads to another product. This can be done by first asking for the customer's name and email address and then following-up with the customer via Autoresponder.

4. Put FAQs in an Autoresponder: Dell and many other tech savvy companies use this technique.

When customers send in customer support requests, they are sent an Autoresponder message. Inside that Autoresponder message, there are FAQ's related to the customer's question. If a customer does not have his question answered then he can hit the reply button and it goes on to a tech support person.

Dell is able to customize the FAQ a client will get because they have software that analyzes the customer's words and then finds the FAQs that are the closest matches.

You can hire a computer programmer to create a personalized script, or you can purchase an already-prepared script. An example of one is in the software package at: http://www.daconsoftware.com/assist.html.

Another option would be to create several different autoresponders that contain FAQs related to a specific topic. Then, if the customer does not have his questions answered he can hit the reply button and click "send" to an email address where his request will be read.

This solution is possible with most autoresponders, including the popular EasyOnlineSales.com and AWeber.com.

Stealth Profit Stream # 3 - In all Autoresponder emails use the full power of the PS to entice customers into another purchase. In other words, after the FAQ, tell the customer about a related product that would interest him regarding the product he just asked a question about. This technique is more powerful than the traditional signature because you are mentioning a product the user would be more likely to take an interest in and purchase.

5. Keep good documentation to make sure the same problems don't recur: It is incredibly important to keep track of the customer problems coming in, for two main reasons:

1. You identify new product ideas because you uncover customer problems that need solutions.
   
   
2. You find problems in your product and customer support process that need addressing, and once you address them, less time is spent on it in your customer service process.
   

Four Simple Steps For Good Documentation:

Step #1 - Organize your email into different folders: If your customer support service consists of one person, then this is relatively simple. You can just create "rules" or filters in the e-mail software programs (Outlook, Eudora, etc.) that automatically sort incoming email into the correct folder.

Step # 2 - Create a customer support message board: What we like about this option is you are letting your customers do most of the organizing. All you do is set-up categories for each trouble area and let the customer post a question in the appropriate category. This option can serve a dual purpose by letting customers see past questions in that category.

Step # 3 - Make sure problems get fixed: What your customers tell you can be gold· but, only if you act on addressing their concerns. So, you need to notice trends in customer questions and find solutions. By ignoring problems, you are really wasting your time by having to answer the same questions over and over again.

Step # 4 - Keep track of customer ratings on support tickets: Most help desk software allows customers to rate the helpfulness of customer support responses. This is an opportunity for you to find what explanations are understood and which ones are unclear.

A very important key to remember about documentation is to always make back-ups of what you collect ... especially if you store everything on one computer.

The reason you always want to make back-ups is that with technology, you are bound to have computer problems. Customer comments can be the same kind of gold as your email list. So, take a few minutes to protect them.

6. For detailed or technical products, create multimedia tutorials people can watch right on their computer screens: If you have any type of software or a product that requires the use of the computer, multimedia tutorials are an excellent way to cut down on technical support emails. Creating multimedia tutorials is easy. The easiest option is with the software Camtasia. This software videotapes whatever you do on screen. So, all you have to do is select what you want taped on the screen and show the customer, step-by-step, how to use your product.

Multimedia tutorials are especially effective at decreasing technical support questions because people learn in different ways. Sometimes written instructions are difficult for people to clearly understand. Plus, what you can do in a few minutes on screen may take a page to write.

7. Let a 3rd party take care of billing problems: Another option you can consider is to use a third-party to process billing. They handle customer service requests and order processing and then they send you a check.

Of course, the downside of a third party is transaction fees can be significant. So, it may only be worth costs if you have lots of orders to process.

Here are two options for third party billing:

• http://www.ccbill.com
  
  
• http://www.Jettis.com
  
  

8. Offer consumer reports or reviews of your product: A good report or review of your product(s) will not only help sell your product, but also will give your customer a good idea of what to expect· And when a customer knows what to expect, less confusion will result.

A good example of this technique in use is Amazon.com's reviews for just about all of their books, tapes, movies, and other products. Keep in mind you can always hire someone to write a review of your product, as long as you disclose it is a paid review.

Your Time vs Your Money

All of these steps take some time to put together. But, once it's done, it's done. Your initial investment in time will pay dividends in the future as you start saving up to ninety percent of the time spent on customer service.

So, if you spend eight hours a day on customer service, you could save seven hours and twenty minutes a day. In only one business week, this will save thirty-six out of forty hours!

Plus, by implementing the stealth profit streams, you will introduce new sales into the customer service process.

Are you starting to see why you should immediately jump on upgrading your Internet customer service process? Well, if you said, "Yes!" keep reading to find out how you can save even more time and generate more money ...

How You Can Close The Sale In Person and Online!

Although the steps above may cut ninety percent of your customer service time, another possible five-percent can be eliminated with a live support person.

Maybe you've seen this before:


All the customer has to do is click the button, and a message box comes up (similar to the MSN, AOL, or Yahoo instant message programs).

So, how does this save you time? Well, when you're answering questions live, you don't have to send more than one email or place more than one phone call, because both you are the customer are available at the same time.

How You Can Use Live Help For Extra Profit!

Okay, listen up· what we are about to share with you is rarely implemented, and will give your business an unfair advantage over your competitors. Although many websites use live help effectively for customer support issues, they forget what a powerful sales tool it can be.

So, if you sell wine, tell your customer, "Click here to get the perfect wine suggestion" or "Find the perfect present that fits your budget."

If all it says is "click here," the user will not realize how they can use live help because most people are not used to this new technology. Then, when the customer contacts your company, a more personalized sales process begins leading to higher ticket purchases.

Right now, you may be thinking that this could actually increase support costs. This is not the case if used correctly since one live chat person can handle several people at a time. Plus, they have the opportunity to close sales that may not have otherwise occurred.

Stealth Profit Stream # 4 - In the live-help process, always ask customers to add themselves to your mailing list. Some people are more likely to respond if asked by a real person, rather than a sign-up form on your website.

Live Support Solutions:

There are dozens of solutions, below are three that are notable because of their pricing or their features.

1. Kayako.com's "Live Response" or "InstaResponse": This site is the ultimate provider of customer-service online tools. Their solution "Live Response" is hosted by you, and "InstaResponse" is hosted by Kayako. It is very feature rich.
   
   
2. Live Person Pro: This one has a few extra features and benefits to consider.
   
   

Whichever solution you choose, an excellent technique is to use a fly-in or pop-up to invite the customer to ask for live help. If the visitor is given a reason to ask for help, this can become a powerful sales tool!

Other Customer Service Solutions

1. Kayako.com - This one's live support options are mentioned above, but they also have a solution called "esupport." It is a help desk with the most features we have seen in a competitor. The main benefit of this option is it puts all of your customer support into one system.
   
   
2. PerlDesk.com - This is a good option for creating help tickets, but without many features of Kayako.
   
   
3. WonderDesk - Another option similar to PerlDesk.
   
   
4. Elementool.com - This is a web-based solution that does not require the installation of a script on your server.
   
   
5. There are dozens of other scripts you can look for at a website, such as http://www.HotScripts.com.
   
   

The remaining possible 5% of customer support time will have to be handled in traditional ways, however you can cut that down even further by providing satisfactory responses. This will reduce repeat communication from the same customer.

3 Ways to Give Satisfactory Responses ... The First Time!

1. Give detailed responses using templates: Always give a full explanation to the customer. This can be done easily by having a swap file of past responses that can easily be copied and pasted into an email.
   
   
2. Be sincere: First, thank the customer for their email. If a customer feels like you are genuinely trying to help him, he is more likely to have a positive impression of you. But, if the customer senses the opposite, customer complaints arise. This is because a customer is nervous when he parts with his money. If the customer feels like he just got a canned response, then his worries grow about getting ripped off.
   
   
3. When you get "time-wasters," don't waste your time on them: Sometimes people will send many emails because they want something for free or are too lazy to find out themselves. Don't waste your time, just give them short, sweet, and polite responses.
   
   

We hope by now that you have realized customer service does not have to be a burden to your business, but can be a money-making machine and a win-win situation for you and the customer.

Here's how to get started:

• Focus your customer service on making future sales!
  
  
• Set clear expectations of what the customer gets in your sales letter and/or process.
  
  
• Create an FAQ page before the sale and one afterwards. The first FAQ overcomes customer objections and the second FAQ is designed to eliminate excessive support.
  
  
• After an order, remind the customer as to what he should do next.
  
  
• Use the full power of autoresponders to eliminate questions from those who do not read FAQs.
  
  
• Use good documentation to identify and eliminate problems with your product or sales process.
  
  
• For technical products, create multi-media tutorials.
  
  
• Consider the use of a 3rd party to handle billing and support.
  
  
• Offer consumer reports or reviews of your product.
  
  
• Use the live-help option to close sales and generate new ones.
  
  
• Handle customer questions and complaints effectively to reduce future communication.
  
  
• Finally, consider the use of help desk software to organize your customer support communication.
  
  

Take action now to create a profitable customer support system that works for you!

To your success,


Hans Klein

Hanks Klein is an online entrepreneur, owner of Wealthstarters.com, and a staff writer for The Online Marketing Letter. You can reach him by sending an e-mail to hans@cyberwave.com